TRP: Goro and Luci (Simple and Complicated)
Day 378. The deserted island. ' ' After Goro had done all the healing he could, he wandered off from the wreck a little ways, looking up and down the beach. He squinted out at the water, trying in vain to see any ships or land or anything on the horizon. He gnawed on his thumbnail. ' ' Maybe Sam could come find them here, and help. Hah. IZZY Luci's robes had gotten rather soaked with sea water, and the salty dampness was unpleasant. Besides which, the heat and sun of the sea were rather overwhelming in her robes -- she'd noticed this already, but she had been largely able to stay indoors, in the shade, so it wasn't much of an issue. ' ' It was an issue now, however, because there wasn't that much shade to be had, stranded on an island. ' ' She had dragged her heavy robes off, then, and spread them on a rock to dry out in the sun, which she squinted up at unhappily, knowing she was likely to burn. She had always been a very ... indoor sort of child. Jonn used to come in from tumbling outside, and even under the shade of the forest, he would be pink from the sun. (She preferred the moon, anyway.) ' ' The shirt underneath her robes was sleeveless, as well, so her pale shoulders would catch the brunt of the sunlight. It was unfortunate, but likely not to be the worst of their problems. She realized, too, that she felt mildly self-conscious about the faded old finger-shaped burns on her shoulder and neck -- normally they were covered, and she didn't have to think about them, or consider that anyone might see them and question her. She looked, first, for Hansel, thinking to half-hide behind him to keep it from happening, but when she saw neither him nor Mishka readily, she gave up on it, assuming that they were together. ' ' Goro, however, she spotted some ways down on the beach. That was just as well. She narrowed her eyes and started for him. She'd seen him not healing himself, and he barely looked healed yet -- likely Hansel had gotten hold of him, but Hansel's magic wasn't as good as Luci's. ' ' She cleared her throat loudly when she got nearby, as he seemed to be lost in thought. LINA Goro glanced over when he heard the throat clearing. "Oh, hey," he said around his thumbnail. IZZY Luci decided to try something. "I'm still a bit hurt," she said. "Do you have any magic left?" LINA "What the fuck?" He took his hand out of his mouth and wiped it on his robes. "Is this a trick question?" IZZY "No," she said blandly. LINA He squinted at her, confused. "Nah. I'm outta magic." IZZY She touched his shoulder with a fingertip, humming to heal him. "You were hurt worse than anyone else," she said reproachfully, pausing. "You should have left some for yourself." LINA "Why?" IZZY "So that you don't die." LINA "I'm not gonna die, though." IZZY "You will if something attacks us on this island." LINA "If that happens, I'd rather make sure everyone else is able to take it." IZZY "Hmph," Luci said. LINA While she healed him, Goro glanced her up and down, making sure she actually wasn't hurt -- weird lie or no. There were some marks, burn scars by the look of them, on her neck and shoulders. He frowned. "Who the fuck did that?" IZZY "The old Abbess. When Jonn and I were small. Hansel killed her," she added, in case Goro didn't know this story. LINA "Oh." Goro's scowl deepened, and he ground his teeth a little. God. All these fuckin' people he wanted to kill who were already dead. IZZY She raised an eyebrow at him mildly. He seemed upset by that, for some reason. Maybe he hadn't heard her properly. "The woman's dead," she offered. "She's not a problem anymore." LINA "But was her death painful enough," Goro said, then thought eh, if Hansel had done it, quite possibly. IZZY "Probably. Jonn thought so," she said, because that seemed like a good metric, frankly. "I wanted to ask you something." LINA "Oh. Yeah? What?" IZZY "Will you help me search for more powerful resurrection magic?" LINA "Uh." Goro stared at her slack-jawed for a second. "Uh. Uh huh. What for?" IZZY She wished, briefly, for her staff to twist in her hands. "There are dead people who shouldn't be dead." LINA "Yeah. Sure. Agreed." He swallowed. "You got anyone in particular in mind, or?" IZZY "A few," she said. LINA He crossed his arms and tilted his head back. "In case you're not picking up on it, the way this conversation's leading, the customary thing to do'd be to gimme some names." IZZY "Yes," she said. "Well." Sleeves would be good, as well. Sleeves to worry at the ends up. LINA He tipped his head to the side, softening some. "What's a matter?" IZZY "Well, suppose that I wanted to bring back someone that you didn't approve of. Would you still help me?" LINA His brow furrowed. "Who?" IZZY She scowled at him. LINA He shook his head. "I gotta know who, Luce. I'm sorry. Big difference between if you wanna bring back..." He started gesturing, hoping for an example, but he was drawing a blank. IZZY "I can do it without you," Luci said, feeling defensive. As if she would bring back someone who would hurt their family, or others. She was clever and thoughtful, and she made good decisions. Goro should know this about her, and trust her judgement. "I don't need help." LINA "Hey, hey." He reached out to put a hand on her arm, but caught himself. "Listen. This ain't a matter of if, I know. It's when. You and I both know there's more powerful rezzing spells out there, and either fucking one of us would love to get our hands on 'em -- just better if we do it together. Someday, you're gonna fucking be able to bring whoever you're thinking of back from the dead, whether I approve or not. But I'm gonna find out, right? So just fuckin' tell me." IZZY She scrutinized him for a moment, and reluctantly started, "Don't be ... weird about it." LINA Goro scrunched up his face. "'Kay." IZZY "Well," she said slowly. "My parents, maybe. Hansel's crew, if any of them are willing." She knew that he had had a brief deathly vision of one of them, though she didn't know the details. He seemed somewhat more at peace now, and she didn't know if the wound should be reopened, so to speak, at this point. LINA "Oh. Yeah. Sure. Why'd you think I was gonna be weird about that?" Elitash, he thought instantly. Hansel could have his Amari back. IZZY "Jonn's boyfriend, too." LINA "Uh huh. Who? Oh, wait. I think I remember who you're talking about. That kid who died in the Grumpy Sausage." IZZY "No, the other one. The necromancer." LINA "Who?" IZZY "Gwydion." LINA "That--wait, what? What the fuck? Raef's kid?" IZZY She blinked at him. "Was he?" LINA "Really tall blonde guy?" Goro held his hand up to show how high. "Total fuckin' weirdo?" IZZY She frowned. "I asked you to not be weird about it." LINA "They were boyfriends?" IZZY Luci nodded. She had no idea that this would be news. To be fair, she also had no idea that Gwydion was Raef's son. LINA "I love Raef," Goro said bluntly. "I'll help bring back his kid. That's fuckin' wild, though. I had no idea." IZZY "Oh," she said. "Good, then." LINA He hesitated. "Anyone else?" IZZY "I don't know," she admitted. "If -- someone else were to die before we were able to locate a spell ..." She trailed off, thinking of Hansel, and of the smell of electricity in the air after Griffin was no more. LINA "Well, we got Raise Dead," Goro pointed out. "'S'long as it's... y'know, ten days." IZZY "And there's a body." LINA "Yeah. Yeah." ' ' Goro looked down and kicked at the sand. He kept... almost having a thought, then stuffing it away. ' ' "Uh, what'd'you think happens when... say you try and resurrect someone, and they don't wanna come back." IZZY "I would assume they don't come back," she said bluntly, then considered that he may be looking for a more in-depth speculatory response. "Perhaps, if we knew the afterlife they went to, we could commune with Selune or Mask and ask if they wanted to come back, first." LINA "Huh. Yeah." Goro kept kicking the sand. Fuck. He could ask... now. Might not get a clear answer, though. Who knew if Mask ever spoke to Silvanus. He bit his bracelet. IZZY Luci was quiet for a moment. She realized that she was biting her lip, and made herself stop. "What do you suppose happens if they're not able to come back? Just ... nothing?" LINA "What, like--someone's got a too tight hold on their soul, or something?" Gruumsh. Gruumsh. No. Goro would fucking hunt him down, and stab out his eye. No problem. IZZY She nodded. LINA "Then, uh. Yeah. Probably nothing. So you go to step two." Goro made a fist and punched into his other open palm. IZZY Luci blinked at him, nonplussed. LINA "It'll be a cold day in the nine hells before any god or abomination or whoever gets to keep the soul of someone I love." IZZY She stared quietly for another moment. "Well," she said slowly, "supposing that isn't an option, exactly. Supposing it's too difficult to just go ... get someone." She'd crossed her hands, she realized, to pick at her nails. She glanced up at the sky briefly, frowning, then plucked at Goro's sleeve and started for the shade of a cliffside and a few palm trees. "To just go ... punch a god and get them back," she continued. LINA "Psh. What, you asking me to say that's when we just give up? You ever hear the saying 'where there's a will, there's a way'?" IZZY "No, of course not." She frowned a little more deeply. "I only want to consider other options. More powerful magic that could tear a soul away from a god with a firm hold. Or an abomination," she added. LINA "Ooh." Goro bobbed his eyebrows and pointed at her. "I like the way you think." IZZY "Do you think that magic exists?" LINA He shrugged. "You get a strong enough god -- or, you know, entity, or whatever -- how can it not?" IZZY "Perhaps," she said thoughtfully. "I'm concerned about the time constraints, though. You and I may not be able to become attuned enough with Mask and Selune quickly enough to -- well." There was no point in talking around the matter, uncomfortable as it was. "To save Hansel from Gruumsh." LINA "Yeah. Sure. So I'm gonna go stab that fucker's eye out." IZZY Luci frowned again. LINA "I'll do it," Goro insisted. IZZY "What if you can't?" LINA "I'll keep trying 'til I figure out a way," he said, like it was obvious. "Hey. You ever hear of something called the Wish spell?" IZZY Luci was consternated by how easily he referred to a difficult task, but said, "Yes." LINA "Maybe that's the way, right there. Maybe that's the kinda magic you're talking about. Dunno if our gods can do it, though. I don't know if it's... that kind of spell." IZZY "It isn't," she said, still frowning. "It's extremely difficult to learn, from what I've read, even for those who can cast it." LINA "So, maybe we just gotta find someone who can. You know that weird kid, Nico? He seems like the type. He can fly and shit, it's real weird. Maybe he knows something." IZZY Luci hmm'd in consideration, because she'd realized that when she was silent and stared into the distance, people often didn't understand that she was thinking about something. Nico was pleasant. He was quiet, and clever, and not one of those particularly boisterous people who wanted to hug her and such. When he visited Ombre at the castle, the three of them could have quite a nice, calm time reading, drinking tea, and occasionally chatting. ' ' She wasn't sure if he was any more skilled than she was, though, even if his sort of magic was more conducive to spells like Wish. ' ' "Mishka's ... friend," she said. "Tricksy Smirnova. She's a lich." It was something that they both knew, but she still felt the need to preface what she wanted to say with that information. LINA Goro grimaced. "Uh huh?" IZZY "Jonn told me," she said slowly, "that according to Gwydion, she has powerful resurrection magic." LINA "No shit? Huh." Goro looked away thoughtfully. "Ain't she kinda evil, though?" IZZY She blinked at him. "What does that have to do with anything?" LINA "Just, y'know, what reason would she have to help us out?" IZZY "She did lend us a ship for this excursion," Luci commented thoughtfully, not having actually considered that aspect of things, per se. LINA "Oh." Goro twisted around and craned his neck to look at the wrecked ship again. "Is that whose that is? Shit." IZZY Luci nodded. "I guess she may regret that particular act of charity." LINA "Fuck. Fuck." Goro ran a hand through his hair, still staring at the wreck. "We're fucked." IZZY "Well," Luci said. "Maybe." She stopped to think about this particular wrinkle, which had never been part of her plan. LINA "Ah well." Goro leaned back into place and looked at Luci again. "What's one more fucked-up monster from hell we gotta kill, right?" IZZY "I suppose," she said doubtfully. "You're very good at talking to people, though." LINA "Psh. C'mon, Lu, get to the point. You want me to try and get shit out of her?" IZZY She blinked at him, baffled for a moment. He seemed determined to shorten her name as much as possible; he had already called her Luce, but now he was down to just the one syllable. It didn't bother her, but she certainly didn't understand it. ' ' "Well, I had thought it might be easier," she said. "Perhaps we could work out some sort of arrangement with her. Make an equally-beneficial deal of some sort. Or -- well, we could steal the spell," she added, but that was more of a Jonn idea, which made her think it would likely end badly. It certainly could end badly. Luci preferred to treat people well -- honestly and fairly. LINA "Deal?" Goro repeated, incredulous. IZZY She nodded, mildly confused as to why that was the more unbelievable of the two options she had brought up. LINA "No. No." Goro shook his head. "No deals. Luci, do not make deals with things. You hear me? Ever." IZZY "What?" She squinted at him. LINA "Don't make deals with shit!" IZZY She leaned away slightly at the emphasis, still squinting. "I don't understand. That's a very broad statement." LINA "Okay. Okay, fair. Let me try again." He rubbed his eyes. "Evil shit. Non-humans. Deals with those things are bad. I mean, you know Diva, don't you?" IZZY "Well, yes," she said. "When you say humans, though." LINA "Humanoids," he clarified, but realized Tricksy still counted as one of those. "People. Fuckin'." IZZY She frowned. "Well, how am I supposed to know? She's a person." LINA "Ehhh." Goro made a wishy-washy gesture. IZZY Luci kept frowning. She mimed the gesture back at him. "This isn't helpful." LINA "It's a know-it-when-I-see-it kinda thing. You're ever not sure, you can come to me, and I'll tell ya." IZZY "Well, how do you know?" she asked, and then supposed, "Your gut?" LINA He shrugged. "Yeah." IZZY Luci scowled and huffed. "Well ..." She crossed her arms, glaring at the sand. "That isn't helpful." LINA "You could ask Selune," Goro offered. IZZY She considered that, still glaring. "I suppose. That's no easy task, though. It's a ritual. It consumes magic. I can only do it once per day. I can't just ask Selune any time I need a decision made." LINA "Right, so. That's why I'm saying. You come to ol' stepdad Goro. Done and done." IZZY "You aren't a deity, Goro," she reminded him scathingly. "You aren't all-knowing any more than I am." LINA "Yeah, but I got the gut feeling thing, alright?" He felt awkward, suddenly, that he'd called himself her stepdad, and he swallowed. IZZY "That isn't quantifiable," she argued. LINA "Doesn't fucking gotta be. Lots of things don't." IZZY She glared at him. LINA "What?" IZZY "That isn't helpful!" LINA "How is it not? I'm telling you what to do." IZZY "I don't want to be told what to do!" Luci realized she was raising her voice, and bit it back to a hiss. "I want to be able to do things on my own." LINA Goro drew back his head a little. He squinted, mouth open, confused. "Then... well... why'd you come ask me?" IZZY She huffed again. "I thought perhaps we could work together. You can't just tell me not to do things and not explain why. I'm going to do them anyway." She heard herself again, sounding petulant and childish, and scowled more fiercely -- at herself, now. LINA "Psh. What more why do you need than Diva? Nah, nah, listen. You go up to Tricksy and try and make a deal or some shit with her, here's what you gotta do. Don't sign nothing, but get all the terms she's offering in writing. You with me so far?" IZZY "Well, maybe it would be simpler to just steal it," she said, sullen. LINA "I'm not even finished, but sure. Yeah. Point taken." He grinned. "Gosh, if only you had a way to get the god of thieves on your side." IZZY She looked at him again, peeved. LINA "What?" IZZY "You always make things either too complicated or too simple, you know," she said, still feeling sulky. LINA "Do I?" He scratched his head, frowning, thinking about it. IZZY "Yes." LINA "Huh. Well. Hey, let's try it this way. You tell me what you're planning, and I'll either nod my head if I think it's a good idea or shake my head if I think it's wrong. Yeah?" He pressed a hand over his mouth to keep himself quiet. IZZY She frowned at him fiercely. "No. I don't want to talk about it anymore. I'm very tired." ' ' So saying, she sat down in place immediately. She was, indeed, very tired -- not of speaking with Goro, specifically, but drained of magic and exhausted from the fight with the monster and the frantic flight. She kept thinking of that other cleric, who had sacrificed himself for them. And she felt very weary from trying to do the right thing, and trying to help Jonn, and trying to heal Goro, and trying to keep Hansel out of Gruumsh's grasp. ' ' Luci scowled at the sand, blinked angrily a couple of times, and sniffed. LINA Goro cringed. "You alright?" Well, obviously fucking not. "Can I get you anything?" IZZY "We're on a deserted island," she said shortly. "There's nothing to get." LINA Goro sat down too, a couple feet away. "Eh, I could go get you some water, or something. Maybe something left from the rations." IZZY "I'm not hungry," she muttered, then remembered to add, "Thank you." LINA "'S'nothin'," he said. He wrapped his arms around his knees and watched the waves, thinking she might just need some quiet company. IZZY Luci was quiet, as well, and still for a while, looking down at the sand. ' ' After a few minutes, she scooted closer to Goro and leaned her head on his shoulder. She was immensely tired. That was all. She would get a power nap, maybe, and feel better. LINA Goro was borderline startled when Luci laid her head on his shoulder. He held very still for a moment, like he would if a bird had deigned to land on him. ' ' (Actually, that'd happened once -- Jonn's crow -- and it was kinda freaky.) ' ' He carefully reached one arm around to pat her on the shoulder. "You beat?" he asked. "Uh, I mean tired." IZZY "Yes. I said that," she mumbled. ' ' She fleetingly wished that Jonn were here, but there was every possibility, if he were, that he would be panicking and would need to lean on her. It was unfortunate that Hansel was upset, as well; she knew that he would normally jump at the chance to hold and comfort her, and frankly, just now, she wouldn't mind it. He was very soft. Goro was rather more ... bony. ' ' But this was comforting, regardless. She supposed that if anything impossible to defeat showed up, Goro would just walk up and punch it. As if things were easy. LINA "Me, too," he muttered. Hadn't ever been a good chance to just fucking stop for a minute and sit down. Till now, he guessed. His arm hovered awkwardly for a moment before he settled it around Luci for good, figuring she'd straight up tell him if she didn't like it. Man, that was great about her. He never had to wonder if she was just avoiding saying shit to not hurt his feelings. ' ' "Hope your dad's okay," he said. "He went off somewhere with Mishka 'fore I got a chance to check on him." IZZY "I'm sure he isn't," she said, before she could think better of it. LINA Goro deflated a little. "Yeah. Yeah." He started chewing his lip. IZZY "He will be," she added after a beat, attempting somewhat weakly to help. "He's very resilient. You know, I never heard any thunder, while we were out there." LINA "Me neither. Why, you got a theory?" IZZY She shook her head. "No, not really. I thought that perhaps being around the creature again would trigger a possession." LINA "Wasn't being around it that triggered the first one. Was... almost starving to death, I guess." Goro squinted. "Or eatin' people." IZZY "Neither of those things happened again, though," she pointed out. "And it still ... happened, at the castle and in Sienna Springs." LINA "Yeah." Goro kept squinting. He stuck his bracelet in his mouth and started to chew. "Hn." IZZY Luci was feeling increasingly weary. Her eyes were uninterested in staying open, but this wouldn't be a good place for a real rest, so she made herself straighten up, rubbing a knuckle into one eye. "We should go back. Make camp. Find Hansel and Mishka." LINA "Eh. Yeah." Goro climbed to his feet and offered her a hand up, doubting she would take it. IZZY She did. LINA "Thanks for the healing, I guess. Fuckin' waste, you ask me." IZZY She gave him a venomous look. "Well, you're wrong, and I didn't ask." LINA "Psssh. Hansel'll be happy about it, I guess. There's that." He shoved his hands in his pockets and kicked some sand. IZZY "You're impossible," Luci stated, and started back down the beach towards the wreckage. LINA Goro let her have a head start for a few paces. "Alright," he muttered under his breath, starting after her. Category:Text Roleplay